Convertible camp furniture



Aug. 18, 1925.

F. VANEK ET AL CONVERTIBLE CAMP FURNITURE Filed May 1, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 1 FI'O'HR Yanek Lee R Marsh:

Aug. 18, 1925. 1,549,934

F. VANEK ET AL CONVERTIBLE CAMP FURNITURE Filed May 1, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Frank Yanek Lee R- Marsh.

(A k flttoznu l Aug. 18, 1925. 1,549,934

F. VANEK ET AL CONVERTIBLE CAMP FURNITURE Filed May 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet5 zlwuentow Frank Vane/k Lee R Mai'sh,

Jul- 9- ltmm q Aug. 18, 1925.

F. VANEK ET AL CONVERTIBLE CAMP FURNITURE Filed May 1, 1923 4Sheets-Sheet 4 gwuenfofl Frank v uem. Lee R Marsh).

19-. H attoznup Patented Aug. 18, .1925.

UNITED STATES FRANK VANEK AN D LEE 3.. MARSH, or airlines, momma.

CONVERTIBLE CAMP FURNITURE Application gled lay 1, 1923. Serial No.885,974.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK VANEK and LEE R. Maren citizens of the UnitedStates, residing at Billings, in the county of Yellowstone and State ofMontana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inConvertible Camp Furniture, of which the followingis a specification.

The present invention relates to furniture intended for use by campingparties, and the main object of the invention is to provide a singlepiece of furniture which may be set up either as a table, a chair, or abed.

Another object of the invention is to make this piece of furniturecollapsible so that it will fold neatly and take up very little roomduring transportation in an automobile or other vehicle, and a furtherobject of the invention is to so construct this piece of furniture thatit may be quickly set up for either one of its different uses.

This device combines lightness with strength and has the advantage ofproviding a comfortable chair, a comfortable bed, or a .good sized tablewithout detriment to the.

good qualities of any of these three uses.

In the accompanying drawin s one embodiment of the invention isillustrated; and- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the de vice set upas a camp bed;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectionof Figure 1; p

Figure 3 is a ure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view of some of its details;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of other details;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the device arran ed as a table;

Figure is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the table;

Figure 8 is a similar view of the table to a Figure 9 is a perspectiveview of the device setup as an easy chair;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary line 1010 of Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of some of the details.

In first describing the device when used as a camp bed, reference isparticularly made to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11. When set uptransverse section of Figsection along as a bed, the device comprisesthe following parts, namely, two side supports 15 two end ars 14 and 16,a central bar 17 an the canvas top 18.

The two side sup rte each consist of three legs or standar s 19, 20 and21, and side runners 22 and 23. The latter are of equal length andhinged in the middle as at, 26. The legs 19 and 21 are hinged ectively ashort distance from the outer ends of the side runners 22 and 23, as at24 and 25 in such a manner that they can be folded inwardly under theside runners 22 and 23. The central leg or standard 20 is hinged as at27 to the side runner 23 in such a manner that it overla s the jointwhen the side sup-' The braces 30, hinged at 28, are intended to hookover a stud 31 on the center 1e 20, and end braces 32, hinged at 29, areeac intended to hook over a similar stud 33 on each of the end legs 19and 21. Similar transverse braces 67 and 68, hinged respectively on theend bars 14 and 16, engage with studs 69 furnished on the outer aces ofthe legs 19 and 21 to keep the structure firm in transverse direction.

The center legs 20 of the side sup rts 15 are cross connected by the bar17 w iizh has a plate 34 at each end, formed as a hook and adapted toengage with a stud 35 on the two center legs 20. The blunt ends of thebar 17 abut against the inner sides of the le s 20. To still furtherstrengthen the side bracing of the device, band braces 36 are hinged asat37 on the cross bar 17, and the loo upper end of these braces 36 arehook sha ed and adapted to engage on studs 38 rnished on the center legs20.

As best seen in Figure 4, the ends of the side runners 23 are providedwith reinforc- 1 ing metal strips 39 at their outer ends secured theretoby countersunk screws or rivets 40. These reinforcing platesare laidflush with the sides of the runners, and their inner ends terminate withan upturned lip 41. The length of these reinforcin strips corresponds tothe width of the end ars 14 and 16.- The ends of these bars 14 and16 areprovided with plate shoes 42 which fit snug y over the reinforced endsof the side runners 22, 23. It will now be evldent that when these shoesare slipped over the ends, the will abut against the lips 41 to hold theen bars 14 and 16 in engagement with the outer ends of the side runners22 and 23.

The end bar 16, which is placed at the head of the bed, is provided witheyelets 43 screwed into the bar on the inner side thereof, as best seenin Figure 5. These eyelets carry chains 44 intended to engage with thehooked ends of tension springs 45 secured on the under side of thecanvas top 18, by means of straps 46. In this manner it is possible tostretch the canvas at this end by ngaging the hook of the spring 45 indifferent links of the chain 44. The part of the canvas extending beyondthe reinforced portion thereof where the links 46 are sewn on, orfastened in any other suitable manner, is doubled up, as seen at 47, andthe ed e 48 sewn down on the reinforced part 0 the canvas. In thismanner a bag, 0 en at both ends, is formed, and into whic .straw or anyother suitable filling material may be inserted to provide a pillow. Theother end of the canvas 18 has similar loops 49 and 50 arranged in twoor more parallel rows, as best seen in Fi ure 11, these rows beingspaced apart in t e longitudinal direction of the canvas for a purposethat will be described further on. Each loop 49 or 50 carries a ring 51and 52 respectively, and these rings are intended to engage over fin ers53 secured on the under side of the en bar 14. These fingers 53 pointinwardly and the canvas is of such length that it can be taken aroundthe outer edge of the end bars 14 and folded under the same, and eachring 51 engage with the corresponding finger 53, while the rings 52 areidle.

When the device is used as a table, the setting up of the same isidentical with what has now been described as the camp bed, with theexception that the top 18 is rolled over to one end, as seen in Figure6, or entirely detached from the end bar 16, but the end bars and otherconnection with the side supports is the same as before. The table isbest shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8. The table top 54 consists of apluralit of narrow slats 55 of the same len h as t e width of the table,or the distance between the outer edges of the set up side supports 15.These slats are held together by means of canvas bands 56 securedalternately on the top and bottom sides of the slats, as seen in Figures6 and 8. In this manner the slats are held securel together when spreadout over the tops 0 the side supports, and can be rolled together into abun le of the same width as one of the slats and the added thickness ofall of them, and may be carried in a suitable bag for transportation.

As shown in Figure 6, the top does not extend the entire length of'theside supports, but only covers the middle portion thereof, but it isevident that by adding more slats to the top, a greater length to thesame may be obtained, extending from end to end of the supports. Inorder to secure the top 54 to the side supports, flexible fingers 57 aresecured on th upper face of the side runners 22 and 23. These fingershave a downwardly directed projection 58 adapted to engage incorresponding recesses formed in the outermost slats 55, but when thedevice is used as a chair or camp bed, these projections engage incorresponding recesses 59 on the top face of the side runners 22 and 23,as best seen in Figure 7. In this manner, the fingers and otherprojections form no obstruction when the device is folded or used as achair or bed.

When the device is used as a chair, the frame or side supports arebroken at the middle hinges 26, so that only the side runner 23 with itslegs 20 and 21 rest on the ground, while the side runners 22 are turnedupwards with the legs 19 hanging loosely on their hinges 24, as bestseen in Figure 9. The side runners 22 are secured in this position bmeans of arm rests 60 having beveled en faces 61 adapted to rest on theside runners 23 and against the inclined side runners 22, while theplate hooks 62 and 63 at each end of the arm rests 60 are adapted toengage over studs 64 and 65 provided on the outer surfaces of the siderunners 22 and 23 respectively. The braces 30, which otherwise engagewith studs 31 on the center legs 20 have now been unhooked from the sameand engage instead over studs 66 furnished on the side runners 23.

The end bar 14 now engages with its fingers 53 in the second row ofrings 52 on the under side of the canvas 18, as best seen in Figure 10,while the tension springs 45 at the other ends of the canvas engage, asbefore, with their hooks in the chains 44 or the eyelets 43- on the endbar 16. The position of the second row of rings 52 has been so selectedthat a suitable slacking of the canvas 18 is obtained in the manner ofcamp stools or deck chairs.

In order to erect the device either for a chair or for a bed, the bestway to go about it is to, first, arrange the arts in the manner of achair, as seen in igure 9, that is to say, with the side runners 23locked to the legs 20 and 21, and the end bar 16 slipped over the outerreinforced ends 39 of these runners, while the canvas 18 is attached tothe eyelets and chains 43 and 44, as already described. The other end ofthe canvas is next attached, in the case'of the chair, by means of rings52 to the fingers 53 on the end bar 14, but in the case of erecting thecamp bed, with rings 51 engaging t e same fingers. With the canvas thusattached at both ends, the end bar 14 is now slipped over the reinforced'tached to the le ends 39 of the side runners 22. If abed is nowintended to be erected, the side rimners 22 are lowered and the legs 19then placed in position, and the braces 30 at- 20. In this manner, noexertion is nee ed; ,to stretch the'can'vas as it is slack during thesetting up operation until the side supports are in sition.

As already describe the side rails, cross bars, and legs are preferablymade of wood, and all the other arts are metal, but it is evident thatmeta can be used for all of these parts; Lightness may be preserved inthe latter case by using some aluminum alloy for-the metal parts, thecompactness of the device when folded remaining the same in both cases.

For transportation, a long narrow bag is preferably used for the tabletop, while the frame may be neatly folded and rolled up in the canvas18. a

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

In furniture of the type described, the combination of side bars eachconsisting of alined sections hinged together at their inner meetingends whereby one section may be swung upwardly relative to the other,

section, cross bars removably engaged with and extending between theends of the side bars, legs hinged to the side bars adjacent the endsthereof,-intermediate legs hinged to one section of the side bars at theinner end of said section and arranged to extend under and across thejoint between the sections, braces pivoted to the sections anddetachably connected with the intermediate le s, the brace pivoted toone section being adapted to be detachably connected to the othersection when one section is swung u wardly, braces detachablylconnecting t e first-mentioned legs and t e side bars, and

braces detachably connecting said legs and the cross bars.

In testimony whereof we aifix our signatures.

FRANK VANEK [L.- a] LEE R. MARSH [L, a]

